Life, 1918-06-27 · page 20 of 37
Life — June 27, 1918 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mocks prominent public figures through fake "horoscopes"—astrological parodies that reveal character flaws through absurdist humor. **John J. Pershing** (U.S. General commanding WWI forces): The horoscope sarcastically predicts his power will "reach zenith" in spring 1919, accompanied by "a million or so of our boys"—mocking both his prominence and the human cost of war. **Bernard Shaw** (Irish playwright): Ridiculed for contradictory advice (eat meat but not too much; avoid writing on subjects he knows about), satirizing his reputation for verbose opinions on everything. The bottom section lists "Unsuccessful Camouflage"—things pretending to be what they're not: La Follette as honest, Bolsheviks as Russia's true spirit, Prohibition as genuine reform, and German royalty as decent humans. These mock wartime propaganda and progressive claims. The cartoon's point: prominent figures and national movements present false facades; astrology is as reliable as their credibility.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1028 “LIFE: Life’s Horoscopes JOHN J. PERSHING ARS and Neptune being in con- junction, with periscopes on the N sol face of the deep and bolshevikis ris- up \ ing from the front-line trenches, and templat Saturn, the planet of delays and de- Willian fects, being in the ascendant, this duty. young man came to attention on Sep- tions ai tember 12, 1860, with practically no- " old Va body in the whole state of Missouri, except his immediate family, aware of the fact. He was brought up on ; a diet of Indian pudding, free silver and grape juice, and, according to the ephemeris of Vulcan . and Aquarius, will reach the zenith of his powers in the That carly spring of 1919, when all the nations of the earth will probab take off their hats to him. course He looks well under the American Flag, should make a five y practice of short journeys, accompanied by a million or so ties mt of our boys to keep him company, and when in Berlin thing « should always appear at the head of a column. Not being \ hell, 2 superstitious, he never makes a practice of knocking Wood, ‘ odicals although some silly folks have accused him of it. ; teeth office, { , a It wou BERNARD SHAW ; 7 govern HIS young man was born with ernor. ibsens forming on the face of nails t Jupiter, shakespeares in total eclipse, / page, | the Dog Star in complete vivisection ? and qu with the cusp of Saturn and pharma- Wainw copia in nebulae with the appendix Owes of Mars. He is easily influenced by Sor his own opinions, should avoid the drama, all doctors and British cabi- — nets, and confine himself to a diet of spring lamb, pork, roast. beef, veal cutlet and corn-beef hash, but should avoid eating meat more than three times every forenoon, otherwise he may become too intelligent. Looks best in the uniform of a British brigadier general, and would create havoc asa machine gunner, a bomber or a tanker. Should beware of Sinn Feinians, typewriters and public halls, and will do his best work as a yogi to a deaf and dumb asylum. Should never cross water or write on any subject upon which he knows something, but should rather confine himself exclusively to America and the conduct of the war Examples of Unsuccessful Camouflage OBERT M. LA FOLLETTE disguised as an honest American. . The Bolsheviki disguised as the real spir1 of Russia. Nation-wide Prohibition disguised as the country’s great- est need. The six sons of the house of Hohenzollern disguised as decent human beings The average moving-picture actress disguised as a sincere dramatic artist “Sec Paris and die”